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James and The Giant Peach - Nuffield Theatre Southampton: I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thought that you had been very clever with the music. You cleverly took some of my dialogue and turned it into snatches of song, with very tuneful melodies. This was exactly the kind of treatment I wanted my adaptation to have.David Woods - playwright

Matt Baker’s excellent score. Liverpool Daily Post

A Christmas Carol, Dukes Lancaster: ..and the music score is a sheer delight. It’s beautifully sung and played too by an excellent cast. The Dukes must produce a CD of the shows soundtrack what a splendid stocking-filler it would make! Lancaster UK Online

My staff tell me that you were truly inspirational in a way that they will never forget.
Dr Lesley Cooke - singing workshop at University of Chester, 2016

The evening entertainment was phenomenal! - (I had so much fun and I could see the sheer enjoyment on the faces of my colleagues).
Hilary Berry - Chair of Cheshire West Association of Primary Heads

A Christmas Carol, Dukes Lancaster: The musical direction, by Matt Baker, was one of the highlights of the show, and the lovely arrangements of festive tunes were performed beautifully by the cast, providing a fantastic accompaniment to the dramatic action.The Westmorland Gazette

What I learned about your sessions was your sense of fun and the way you sorted a room full of over a hundred people into harmony parts and had them singing in half an hour. You are a fantastic teacher and you remain so positive too. One of the really amazing things that you can do is that you can SING ALL THE PARTS!! It is amazing. To have a male teacher who can sing my part is amazing. You were such a good influence on everybody. Your influence on the children was electrifying. You have so many talents. Thank you for all your hard work and the beautiful music you composed.
Participant

Theatre in the Quarter, the group which began modestly in the Garden Quarter area of Chester and which now attracts professional actors with impressive track records and huge reputations to its productions…..It will take something incredible for Theatre in the Quarter to top all this in 2013 but if there is one person who can manage that feat, it’s Matt Baker.Chester Chronicle, January 2013

Yet Hope I: "Intensely beautiful"Prince Charles, 2014

Words cannot say how thankful we are for the beautiful song you composed for our school. Today's assembly was off the scale in terms of energy and inspiration and we are so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with you. You really are one of the most talented and inspirational people I have ever worked with and I really hope we can work together again. The praise is rolling in from staff, parents, UNICEF assessors and children. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Roz Artist - teacher, Cherry Grove School, Chester, April 2017

Everyone commented on what great sessions you led and were asking when you would be back! Amy Robinson - Peer Support Group Facilitator, Alzheimer’s Society

Amazing and inspirational sessions. Thanks for being part of our Roadshow for teachers and delivering fabulous content. Everyone had such a lot of fun. Thank you! Alita Mills - Head of Education, Stagecoach Theatre Arts UK

You blew us away and really set the bar high for our first rehearsal. Thank you so much as we all thoroughly enjoyed you leading us. What a great and uplifting song! Wish you were based in London. Mathurot - Making Music UK

Thank you' for the work you did with our choir. You pitched it perfectly. I have had so much positive feedback from choir members about how helpful it was. It has given us the confidence we need to move forward.Liverpool LGBT Chorus

Chester City Passion moves the crowds on Good Friday

2017-04-18T10:39:08+01:00

Young and old, Christian and non-Christian were spell-bound by a powerful performance of the Easter Story told in Chester city centre on Good Friday in front of thousands of people.Nick Sherratt reprised the role of Jesus as the Chester City Passion returned in a tale of betrayal and suffering that ends in Christ’s brutal death on the cross prior to his resurrection on Easter Sunday.Produced by Chester Mystery Plays , working with Theatre in the Quarter , the entertaining, evocative and moving spectacle involved a cast of around 100 people with many familiar faces including Chester Cathedral’s very own heritage manager Nick Fry as Pontius Pilate.

Town crier David Mitchell acted as narrator. Even the Bishop of Chester, Rt Rev Dr Peter Forster , made a brief cameo appearance.Commissioned by Churches Together and Link Up, this extraordinary performance, featuring drama and music, was directed by Matt Baker , the musical director and composer for Chester Mystery Plays since 2003.Matt, a cast member and accordion player on the day, was ‘thrilled’ to be working again with the town crier, Karamba Samba band and Roman Tours.

The action begins under Eastgate Clock as Jesus makes a triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday accompanied by his followers and a donkey – believed to be a symbol of peace. But the mood soon changes as Jesus overturns the tables of the money lenders in the Cleansing of the Temple performed on Eastgate Row with the crowd captivated by the intensity of the scene.Jesus hosts the Last Supper high on the row where he shares a meal with his apostles and predicts betrayal by one of their number, Judas. And as the action moves to The Cross, we see the arrest of Jesus by Roman guards in the Garden of Gethsemane immediately after Judas kisses him on the cheek.

His trial is held in Town Hall Square presided over by Pontius Pilate, where we witness Jesus being tortured before being sentenced to death.Accompanied by guards and with excruciating pain etched on his face, he struggles past the crowd before we hear the horrific sound of nails being driven through his flesh and he is crucified in front of the west door of Chester Cathedral before a distraught Mary.

The beautiful singing voice of nine-year-old Hammond School pupil Tayler Jefferson added poignancy to the moment through her rendition of a specially composed piece.Christ's lifeless body was then carried into the cathedral through the west door as the Bishop of Chester, dressed in white robes, looked on.

When the cast took to the stage, the enthusiastic round of applause told you everything you needed to know about how the performance had touched everyone present on a day when the forecast rain thankfully held off. (Chester Chronicle)